ISSUE#92 May 2009
OUTLET
The Official Reece Customer Update
We welcome your feedback so please send any comments by e-mail to [email protected] or by fax to (03) 9274 0131.
GRAF
Big Carat
Winners
Testing
the water.
How to choose a hot
water heater.
Winter’s coming, and many of your
customers will be thinking about
upgrading their hot water heaters.
But there are so many options.
And so many things to consider.
One of the key considerations is
the environment:
• H
ot water systems can account for
25% of household CO2 emissions,
and replacing an electric unit with
solar or heat pump is equal to
taking a car off the road in terms
of environmental impact.
olar and heat pump units are
S
becoming more popular, especially
with government rebates. In fact, recent
statistics from suppliers show that sales
of heat pump and solar units are
growing at a significantly higher rate
than other categories:
• Heat pumps sales doubled last year.
• Solar, which has been getting popular
for longer, also grew significantly.
• It is predicted that heat pump and
solar will be at least 60% of the entire
hot water unit market within two years.
It’s hardly surprising, since these
systems are cheaper to run, and
more environmentally friendly. Heat
pumps are particularly easy to upgrade
from standard electric systems, as
they use the same plumbing and
electrical connections.
We’ve included some more information
about the hot water unit market on page 2.
In the GRAF Big Carat competition we asked you to
tell us about installing a GRAF Carat Underground
Rainwater Tank and how you or your customers are
making use of the extra space.
More details about the winners on page 2.
The new
Reece Hot
Water Decisions
Guide will help
you help your
customers
make the right
decision. It’s
on the website
or ask at your
Reece Plumbing
Centre.
HOT
WATER
decisions guide
GRAF Big Carat
competition winners.
Australians love their backyards. And,
more and more, they’re falling in love
with their water tanks. Now there’s a
way they can have both. GRAF Carat
underground water tanks store plenty
of water, and they store it out of sight,
under the backyard.
In the GRAF Big Carat competition we
asked you to tell us about installing a
GRAF Carat underground water tank
and how you or your customers are
making use of the extra space. The
response was overwhelming. We even
received a couple of poems (they’re on
our website).
Adam from Mount Lawley, WA
calculates he’ll save around 2.16 million
litres of water over the next ten years.
Adam from Mudgee, NSW is also saving
water and space, while Shane from
Yeppoon, Queensland, reckons if his
GRAF (the first in Central Queensland) is
ever empty it’d make the perfect esky.
The winners were Entrenched Landscapes
and MacPherson & Willott Constructions.
Entrenched Landscapes, of Cronulla,
NSW, proves that their creativity isn’t
limited to plumbing.
Our clients proposed that they wish to store,
Rainwater on site, but wait there is more,
30,000L no less, in some way, shape or form,
And we don’t want to see it, we want a green lawn.
So while the machines dug a hole in the ground,
We rocked up to Reece, there an answer we found,
GRAF’s rainwater tanks were the perfect solution,
With all the support that we needed for a
perfect execution.
Read the rest of Entrenched Landscapes
clever poem at www.reece.com.au/outlet
MacPherson & Willott Constructions
recently installed a pair of GRAF Carat
3,750L rainwater tanks under the back
playground of the Toronto Baptist
Church, near Newcastle in NSW.
Each winner gets a trip for two
to Europe, with a visit to the Graf
factories in France and Germany
and sightseeing tours in the
fabulous food and wine regions
of both countries.
They were able to achieve this feat with
no disruption to the Church’s playgroups,
crèche, boys’ and girls’ brigades and
Sunday School. Miraculous.
Thanks to all who entered, and
don’t forget to check out the
winners and the finalists on
www.reece.com.au/outlet
Market update - hot water units
Solar and heat pump units are becoming more and more popular,
especially with government rebates and legislation that’s made energy
efficient products mandatory in new homes. In fact, recent statistics
show that sales of heat pump and solar units are growing at a significantly
higher rate than other categories.
The increase in popularity has been driven by the very attractive
government rebates and carbon emissions trading (RECs) in the
replacement market and legislation banning the installation of some
products in new homes.
Heat pump and solar hot water systems represent around 30% of the
market now and it is predicted that they will be at least 60% of the entire
hot water unit market within two years.
bathroom
< planner
2
www.reece.com.au /outlet
Plan your ideal
bathroom online
er for more details
Visit www.reece.com.au/bathrooms/plann
ISH LIST
International Sanitation & Heating/Air-Conditioning Exhibition
Bushfire
Building
Standards
Work has begun rebuilding Victoria
after the devastating bushfires.
And on rebuilding the bushfire
building standards.
The Victorian Government, in conjunction
with the Building Industry Commission
and Plumbing Industry Commission, has
introduced new standards in areas where
bushfire is a risk.
There are now six bushfire risk categories
based on the Bushfire Attack Level (BAL).
These range from low to very high based
on the predicted bushfire attack and level
of exposure of the property.
Less than 10% of all Victorian homes will
fall within the highest risk levels. While
there’ll be some increase in costs, the
increase in safety makes it an investment
we can’t ignore.
ISH is the International Sanitation &
Heating/Air-Conditioning Exhibition,
It is held every two years in Frankfurt,
Germany and it’s the biggest
plumbing industry fair in the world.
It’s huge - over 200,000 visitors
over five days; 2,372 exhibitors from
58 different countries; 10 halls over
21 levels. The Who’s Who turn up
including names like Rehau, Geberit,
Graf, Rothenberger, Arco, Walraven,
Hansgrohe, Alape and Ideal Standard.
In the bathroom space, the
environmental message was
championed under the banner of
“Blue Responsibility” with a focus
on water conservation. Sustainable
bathrooms and products are now
expected by consumers around
the world – and that includes your
customers. Manufacturers are
responding by developing products
that balance the needs of the
environment and the desire for
fashionable products that are enjoyable
to use. We noticed considerable
innovation in shower head technology
designed to deliver a great showering
experience while using less water.
In plumbing, concern for the
environment went beyond just water
usage. We did see a lot of innovation in
water storage with Graf featuring as a
major player. But there were also some
interesting developments in sustainable
sanitary solutions and, particularly,
efficient heating and air- conditioning
systems using renewable energies.
The other significant development was
the emergence of PSSU (a very modern
plastic technology) where fittings on
plastic hot and cold piping systems are
also plastic (instead of brass), resulting
in 100% plastic systems. We’ll watch
this space closely.
The trend for environmental hot water
units such as heat pump and solar is
definitely a key focus around the world
not just Australia. Many manufacturers
are focusing their development in this
area and no doubt this will shape the
hot water market in the next few years.
Check out more information on the
standards at www.buildingcommission.
com.au or call the Bushfire Building
Advice Line on 1300 360 320.
Autumn
Bathroom
Sale
With all the new and exciting trends,
it was reassuring to see that plumbers
all around the world are still plumbers.
They love their tools and their cars.
Tool manufacturers like Rothenberger
had a massive presence with lots of
new and improved tools with many
designed to work with the constantly
evolving plastic piping systems.
We also saw the ultimate plumber’s
ute – a van custom designed for the
modern plumber – not only was it
fitted with shelving, racks and pull out
drawers for all products and tools, it
even had an on-board prep and work
area (for those rainy days), an area for
refreshments, and of course, a GPS.
The Reece Autumn Bathroom Sale
started on 20 April 2009 and finishes on
1 June 2009. It’s a great opportunity to
help your customers save. Let them know.
If they’re thinking about updating their
bathrooms, now’s the time to act. There
are packages on offer to make renovating
a bathroom simple, easy and affordable.
Find out more at www.reece.com.au/sale
FOR EVERY $200 YOU SPEND ON ROTHENBERGER TOOLS
YOU’RE AUTOMATICALLY IN THE DRAW TO WIN
$10,000 IN COLD HARD CASH.
Find out more at www.reece.com.au/toolsale
www.reece.com.au/outlet
3
Expanding
the network
In The Pipeline.
This month we’ve added a new
Plumbing Centre in Warrnambool, VIC
and a new hvac-r branch in Orange
NSW. We’ve also relocated our St Kilda
VIC Plumbing Centre.
Plumbing is changing, and there’s a lot more to it than pipes, trenches and
taps. In The Pipeline keeps you up-to-date on the wide range of products
at Reece that can help you.
Products for smarter plumbing.
For full details of each new branch please
go to www.reece.com.au/storefinder
Metabo
Cordless
Drill/Drivers LTX-Class
West Warrnambool VIC
Address:21 Dickson St,
West Warrnambool
Phone: (03) 5560 5311
Fax:
(03) 5560 5288
Manager: Chris Bishop
St Kilda VIC (relocation)
Address:40 Inkerman St, St Kilda
Phone: (03) 9525 3722
Fax:
(03) 9593 9530
Manager: Brett Levi
2IC:
Dave Considine
hvac-r Orange NSW
Address:40 Peisly St, Orange
Phone: (02) 6360 0422
Fax:
(02) 6360 1966
Manager: Brad Ashton
Rothenberger
Roscope Multiview
Life’s a lot easier if you can see
what’s going on in pipes, tubes,
excavations, inside ceilings or under
floors. The Rothenberger Roscope
Multiview lets you know exactly what
you’re dealing with before you dig.
• Professional, modular, versatile
inspection tool
• Lets you inspect, photograph
and save
• It’s flexible, easy to handle and
easy to clean
• It comes with an SD-memory card
and you can connect it to your PC.
The Rothenberger Roscope
Multiview. It’s worth taking a look.
The new Metabo LTX-Class cordless
drills are here. The lightest and most
compact in their class. And the
toughest. High-performance Li-Power
Extreme battery pack and the 4-pole
compact motor give maximum
strength. These are serious tools. As
they say at Metabo: work, don’t play.
Auspex Pipe
Plumbers wanted these products,
so Auspex introduced them: 100m
coils of black pipe, and green
rainwater pipe in straight lengths
and coils. Auspex PE-X is a cross
linked polyethylene pipe that meets
A.S.2492-1994 and comes in three
colours, black for hot and cold
potable water, green for rainwater
and lilac for reclaimed water.
Main Price Changes
For the full list of price changes or if you have any queries, please see your
Reece Branch Manager or visit www.reece.com.au/outlet for further updates.
Supplier
Products
% Increase
Date Effective
ZIP HEATERS
Water Heaters
Various
01 May 2009
EVERHARD
Surface Drainage
Various
01 May 2009
RINNAI
Hot Water
10%
01 May 2009
PHILMAC
Irrigation Products
4.5 – 6.5%
01 May 2009
BRITEX
Stainless Steel
Various
01 May 2009
BROWN BROTHERS
Pumps
Various
01 May 2009
TASMAN SINKWARE
Sinkware
Various
01 June 2009
The Dux
great winter deal
keeps you warm
4
www.reece.com.au /outlet
Purchase an
Airoheat from
any Reece store
and receive a
premium Dux
jacket valued
at $149
Outlet is a publication by Reece Pty Ltd (ACN 004 097 090) Copyright These materials are copyright. No part of them may be reproduced,
adapted, translated or transmitted without the prior permission of the copyright owner, Reece Pty Ltd, except under any permitted
circumstances set out in the Copyright Act 1968. Liability Reece makes no warranties with respect to any of the materials contained in this
publication and Reece does not assume any responsibility or liability for any loss or damage which may arise from the use of, or reliance on,
any information contained in this publication.
Outlet is printed on Monza Recycled which contains 55% recycled fibre (25% post consumer and 30% pre consumer) and 45% elemental
chlorine free pulp. All virgin pulp is derived from well managed forests and it is manufactured by an ISO 14001 certified mill.